MI-PAD BUILDS OFFSITE HOMES
A new way of manufacturing homes offsite can save serious time
and money, while helping to reduce our footprint on the environment.
We’ve all seen those episodes of aspirational house programmes
where a few lorries arrive and the constituent parts of a futuristic-
looking home are unloaded, before being constructed in a matter
of a few days or weeks by a dedicated crew of expert fitters – of
course, with the help of some rather large cranes.
But many of us would never have thought it was for us. We
build houses the traditional way, with materials delivered to site,
with our builders fitting them there and then; sending back what
they haven’t used, and scrapping the off-cuts, leftovers and bits
that didn’t quite work.
We’re so used to it that we don’t even think of it as wastage
any more. It’s how it’s done, and the alternative is the reserve of
the privileged – the owners of million-pound eco-properties who get
their dream homes shipped in from fashionable designer factories
in mainland Europe.
Faster, More Cost-effective Homes
It doesn’t have to be that way. Manufacturing houses offsite needn’t
involve hundreds of thousands worth of bespoke kit, yet it can
mean more cost and environmental savings, and a much speedier
construction process.
Introducing mi-pad the world’s first factory built sustainable
house. mi-pad revolutionises housing by rethinking every part of
its construction, then making it better.
No concrete footings or foundations, no bricks or mortar. It simply
uses screw piles to secure it in to the ground. Through its unique,
environmentally aware design, it offers affordable, sustainable and
flexible living – and in doing so helps to answer some of the world’s
most pressing problems.
Recylable Materials
It is built using recyclable materials, one of which is fire retardant
timber OSB. Featuring extremely good insulation, it is constructed
to the highest thermo-efficiency standards.It controls its own
temperature, making it suitable for both hot and cold climates, and
can float, so it is ideal for flood prone areas.
Thanks to its clever design, mi-pad offers a shorter build-time than
other offsite manufactured houses. As well as cutting labour and
material costs, reducing time onsite and the risks associated with
unpredictable weather, you only need semi-skilled labour.
In-house design and manufacture reduces the need for trades to
visit the site, as much of the first fix work can be done in the factory.
For the reduction in traffic to site alone, your neighbours, the local
community and Mother Nature will thank you.
You can control the build process much more too, with far fewer
mistakes, better management of health and safety, and more efficient
cutting of materials to reduce wastage.
Mini mi-pad
As part of the mi-pad development, we have also developed mini
mi-pad. mini mi-pad is a basic kit-form house version of mi-pad.
Designed to help address the housing shortage, a pressing
problem worldwide.
It is an ideal low cost solution to provide people with security and
shelter -moving them on from poor living conditions or in the event
of an unfortunate disaster. In its most basic form it can sleep up to
nine people in bunk beds, or can be optimised as a fully functioning
bed-sit, complete with a shower room and toilet and basic kitchen,
for a single homeless person.
With the recent fires tearing through informal settlements in
Hout Bay, the move to rebuild housing that is more efficient and
fire retardant is what must be encouraged -mi-pad can offer this.
mi-pad believes its off-site manufacturing methods are the way
of the future. The ‘factory in a box solution’ can be offered as a
permanent factory facility or as a temporary factory facility; which
after removal the land can be converted to a community based
centre, sports grounds, or whatever is needed by the community,
to provide more for its people and make it a happier, healthier
place to live. www.mi-pad.eu
Dean Norman
International Developments
[email protected]
10
Saffron Williams
Programme Manager
[email protected]
News Watch